Nvidia shares fell about 3.4% in out-of-hours trading Monday after the company announced an internal investigation into whether CEO Jensen Huang had been targeted by a foreign intelligence effort, putting his future at the AI chipmaker under scrutiny.
Yahoo Finance reported the investigation puts the future of the world’s most valuable chipmaker and the CEO’s role as the most prolific salesman of the AI boom under scrutiny.
Seoul’s Assurance Amidst Nvidia Turmoil
South Korea moved swiftly to reassure the market. The country’s deputy science minister said on Monday that contracted deliveries of Nvidia graphics processing units (GPUs) would proceed without disruption. “We expect production and the delivery schedule for contracted volumes to proceed without disruption,” Vice Minister of Science and ICT Ryu Jemyung told a parliamentary budget committee, The Star reported.
This assurance comes as a critical lifeline for South Korea, which has already received and is using 10,000 GPUs funded under a 2025 supplementary budget. The ministry is actively monitoring the situation and discussing prices and schedules with Nvidia Korea, emphasizing a commitment to stability in a key national AI initiative.
The Fallout of Huang’s Personal Crisis
The controversy stems from an internal investigation launched by Nvidia’s board on Sunday. The probe was initiated following a report in The New York Times that Huang had a close relationship with a Chinese businesswoman, Alice Huang, who US authorities investigated and concluded was a Chinese intelligence asset. I am hoping for a simple affair, not a risk to our national security,
billionaire investor Bill Ackman commented on X.
Huang told Nvidia’s employees that he had been unfaithful to his wife, without disclosing details of the relationship. The fallout is already tangible: his daughter, Madison Huang, an Nvidia executive, cancelled a planned visit to Seoul this week, impacting scheduled meetings with South Korean AI startup Rebellions and Kakao Mobility.
| Entity | Response to Nvidia Controversy | Impact |
|---|---|---|
| Nvidia | Launched internal investigation | Shares down about 3.4%, key visit cancelled |
| South Korean Government | Assured contracted GPU deliveries unaffected | 10,000 GPUs already in use |
| Nvidia’s Asian Partners | Shares rebounded after last week’s selloff | TSMC up 6.5%, Samsung up 2.9% |
Trump Calls Huang a Fine Person as Markets Remain Stable
US President Donald Trump, who was reportedly briefed about the intelligence findings roughly a year ago, said he had not spoken to Huang but called him a fine person. If we genuinely thought he was going to step down … the stock would be down — it would be an absolute bloodbath, to be honest,
said Chris Weston, head of research at brokerage Pepperstone in Melbourne, suggesting Huang would not be replaced.
Despite the turmoil, the scheduled two-day Nvidia AI Day Seoul, expected to draw about 2,000 participants, will proceed as planned. Kakao Mobility confirmed its business agreement with Nvidia would proceed, with senior director Gaurav Agarwal attending instead of Madison Huang.
Semiconductor Supply Chain Faces Uncertainty Amid Investigation
While South Korea’s contracted supplies are safe, the broader semiconductor supply chain faces uncertainty. Analysts said a prolonged investigation or internal review could potentially delay Nvidia’s investment decisions or product launches. Tesla CEO Elon Musk commented “I agree” on a post by Sequoia partner Shaun Maguire that said Huang “did something incredibly dumb” that was “bad for America” but that “Jensen is irreplaceable for America’s AI leadership”.
Ryu Young-ho, a senior analyst at NH Investment & Securities, pointed out that while Nvidia’s products would be difficult to replace, its rivals, including Advanced Micro Devices, could attract greater short-term attention. This shift could benefit Samsung, which has close business ties with AMD.
